Renegade, Part I: Ruusan
by Dashiva
Summary: A seasoned Jedi and Count Dooku each separately hunt down a rogue Sith Lord and former apprentice to Darth Sidious. The rogue's first destination: Ruusan. Part 1 of a 3 part story.


**Star Wars – Renegade, Part I**

**Ruusan**

Using the Force to enhance his speed as he ran, Blaris Uzhek sprinted after his quarry. He had spent so much time and energy following this particular runner, and he wasn't about to give up now. He couldn't be allowed to fail now.

Uzhek was a tall, muscular Zabrak born on Iridonia, who had been a Jedi Knight for nearly two years now. His former Master, Kit Fisto, had ordered him to chase down this person before he could escape the planet he was on.

Unfortunately, the planet in question was Benizaar – located just outside the Corellian system, and a major hub of intergalactic traffic.

If his target escaped Benizaar, it would be almost impossible to track him.

The street Uzhek was currently running down was crowded with humans and aliens who all seemed uninterested in the fact that a grown Zabrak was sprinting past them at unnatural speeds. Uzhek couldn't see his target, but he could feel him in the Force, just ahead of him. If his target hadn't been Force-trained, this would've been an easy capture.

Quickly turning a corner Uzhek saw a glimpse of his target; a flash of black robe that flicked around the next corner. Pouring all his energy into the Force he ran faster, his legs straining as the pressure increased. He unhooked his lightsaber and prepared to ignite it as he turned the next corner…

And was thrown sideways by a massive, smashing Force-push that struck him in the head.

Uzhek lost his grip on his lightsaber as he was thrown end-over-end down the next road into a back-alley, where he crashed to the ground. He breathed heavily as pain shot up his side and his head throbbed.

He tried to reach his hand out to pull in his lightsaber, which was lying a bit away from him, but before he could use the Force his target, who had now become his attacker, picked it up.

His now-attacker hefted the weight of the lightsaber hilt in his hand. "An inelegant design. The hilt is too smooth, not allowing for a firm grip."

Uzhek struggled to get up, but the pain was overwhelming. He slowly began channelling the Force into healing himself. "Does it really matter?"

The attacker nodded. "It does. How can you Jedi be expected to fight me when you are given such substantial weaponry?" He activated Uzhek's blue blade, swinging it a few times. "The crystal, though…it is of Ilum origin?"

Uzhek nodded. "Probably a lot better than the dark crystal you'd have in the heart of your blade."

The attacker smiled sadistically. "I'm not going to kill you, Jedi Uzhek. No." He deactivated the blade and tossed the hilt onto Uzhek's stomach. "I've got better things to do. Despite what Yoda and Windu think of me, I do still have a heart." He crouched down to Uzhek, who was still unable to get up. "But here's a warning for you. If you continue to try and capture me, I will not hesitate to kill you or whoever they send." He quickly injected a miniscule needle into Uzhek's neck. "Sullustan paralysis injector. It'll wear off in about twenty minutes, even if you try to use the Force to accelerate its removal. Good day, Jedi Uzhek."

With that, his attacker ran off. The tranquilizer was all through Uzhek's system, and given his current state there was no way he could summon the power to remove it. All he could do was wait until the tranquilizer wore off.

Wait, and wish that next time he would not be so easily defeated by Darth Thrak.

Even though he had left his master, Darth Sidious, before his Sith training had been complete, he still considered himself to be Darth Thrak. He was a renegade, pursued by both the Jedi and Lord Sidious' agents, and it was doubtful he'd be able to fully escape both their clutches, especially now that the Clone Wars had broken out.

Thrak had been running for almost twelve years, and the war had begun nearly two years ago. Somehow, whenever he'd escaped to another planet or system, the Jedi and Sidious had been one step ahead of him. He'd never been able to stay in one place for too long, and every time he'd been forced to run again his anger towards his pursuers had increased.

Now he was on his way to the spaceport, to hopefully find a ride out of the system. He knew that no-one would take him to his real destination, but perhaps he could get close.

He arrived at the spaceport, where a transport bound for the planet Sulon was about to leave. He walked over to the attendant nearby, a thin Twi'lek.

"Greetings," he said in accented Basic. "How may I help you?"

A superfluous question – why else would he be speaking to the transport attendant? "I wish to board the transport, immediately."

"I'm sorry," the Twi'lek replied, "but we've got a full passenger compliment, we're just about to leave."

Whether it was because of the Force or his own intuition, Thrak could tell he was lying. He waved his hand slightly. "I'm sure there's one slot left."

The Twi'lek nodded. "It appears that one of our due-to-arrive passengers has cancelled. We have one slot left."

Grinning slightly, Thrak nodded. "Thank you." As he got aboard he used the Force to remove the Twi'lek's memory of him. He couldn't afford for a Jedi to show up and start asking question to the Twi'lek later on.

He got aboard, and hid down in one of the air vents. He then went into a deep Sith meditation, which helped him regain his energy and strengthen his body and mind. He would awaken when they reached Sulon.

Then, he would find a way to Ruusan.

The hologram of Mace Windu frowned. "_So he's escaped again. That's not good news, but we're glad you're still alive. Did he say why he spared you, or where he was headed?_"

Uzhek shook his head. "He didn't say anything about where he was going, but given his profile and the way he moves I'd say he's headed for another possible safe haven from the Jedi. He might try to find a planet with a dark side aura to protect him."

"_Many planets with this aura, there are not,_" intoned Yoda, diminutive as ever in his holographic chair. "_Send Jedi to these planets immediately, we must._"

"_Agreed._" Mace replied. "_It seems the only planets we know of that have those auras that are nearby are Ruusan, Korriban Vjun, Dagobah and Yavin IV. The closest to Benizaar would be either Ruusan or Korriban. Blaris, head for Ruusan. We'll send one of the other Knights to Korriban and the other planets. If we move quickly, we can head him off before he gets to his destination._"

"_May the Force be with you._" Yoda said gravely.

Uzhek nodded, and the hologram of the two Jedi disappeared. Ruusan…It had been a while since he'd been there, with the small contingent of Jedi and the larger contingent of Republic scientists. He didn't think he'd ever go back to that overgrown sandpit.

He immediately began powering up his ship, the _Sentinel_, and within three minutes he had left Benizaar behind.

Deep within a hidden fortress on Coruscant Count Dooku watched the stars come out, as night began to fall. He knew it was dangerous for him to be here, especially now that the Clone Wars had begun and the Jedi were on the lookout for him, but apparently his master had an important assignment for him. He'd been waiting here for his master for the last hour.

It had been two years since the war had begun, and he'd fought and defeated Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in battle. Since then he'd had little of the way of real combat, except for a skirmish of sorts with Yoda on Vjun. Dooku had longed for the chance to fight Skywalker again, to finish him this time, and he was hoping heartily that this was the assignment his master had for him.

The door behind him opened, and Darth Sidious entered the room. His face was covered by a cloak, and Dooku could only see his mouth and chin. He stepped over to Dooku, looking out the large window that Dooku had been staring through.

"I have a mission for you, Lord Tyranus." Sidious said, his voice deep and raspy.

Dooku nodded. "What is it you wish of me, my Lord?"

Sidious turned to face him, his face still hidden by the cloak. "There is a man. He is strong in the dark side, but unworthy of being my apprentice. He must be eliminated, before he can do any damage to us. However, every time I or the Jedi have sent agents to kill him, he's escaped. We need to destroy him, before he can have a chance to escape again."

Dooku raised his eyebrow. "Who is this man, my Lord?"

"He calls himself Darth Thrak," Sidious informed him, "and he is as dangerous as any true Sith Lord I've seen. He trained under me for a while, not long after Darth Maul fell to the Jedi, but he could not complete his training. He ran, trying to escape me and the Jedi, but we have separately been hunting him since then. I recently came into possession of information that will lead us to him."

"Where is he now?" Dooku asked.

Sidious's mouth curled in a sinister grin. "He is on his way to Ruusan, where the fabled Valley of the Jedi is located. There is certainly something related to the Force there, but whether it's the Valley or not is uncertain. He must be looking for somewhere with a sufficient dark side aura to shroud him from the Jedi."

"But the Valley of the Jedi would have a light side aura, wouldn't it?" Dooku asked. "The Force of thousands of Jedi is supposed to be in there."

Sidious nodded. "According to legend, the Valley's power can be exploited by one with sufficient strength to wield it. Thrak is someone who I believe could control that power."

Dooku's eyes widened. "I'll eliminate him at once, my Lord."

Sidious grinned again. "Excellent. Take a ship to Ruusan immediately, and wait for him there. Destroy him when he arrives."

Dooku nodded. "I will bring you his head, my Lord."

His cape flowing out behind him, Dooku strode out of the room and headed for the hangar. On the way he unconsciously gripped the hilt of his curved lightsaber, as if he could here it baying for Thrak's blood.

Grinning, Dooku got aboard his vessel and began pre-flight checks.

The transport arrived at Sulon, in the Barons Hed Spaceport, approximately sixteen standard hours after it left Benizaar, and Thrak was glad to be finally out of the air vent. His bones ached, but the pain made him stronger, fuelling his energy and his dark side power.

Pain was a friend he'd made long ago.

Carefully avoiding the other disembarking passengers, he strode off towards the local cantina. There weren't many on this planet, as there were very few cities due to the large areas of open, infertile ground. This particular joint was called the Grimy Hyperspanner.

Stepping into the dimly-lit cantina, Thrak felt the presence of ten other people in the place, all going about their own business. He walked over to the counter, where a Weequay bartender stood cleaning a glass.

"I'll take a shot of Corellian Hardliquor, and any information you might have on how to get to a planet near here." Thrak said, keeping his voice low.

The Weequay spoke in thick Basic. "Talk to spaceport people, they help. This cantina, not spaceport."

Doing his best to remain patient with the fool, Thrak replied, "The planet I wish to go to is not on any travel agency flight plan. It's a little out of the way, if you know what I mean."

The Weequay nodded. "Which planet?"

Thrak's voice became barely a whisper. "Ruusan."

"Ruusan!" the Weequay shouted. "Bah! Why go to dingy planet like Ruusan? Nothing there but rocks!"

Thrak clenched his fist under the counter of the bar, using every ounce of resolve he had to not choke the pitiful bartender. "I wish to go there, that's all that should matter. Is there somewhere I can get a ship?"

The Weequay thought for a moment, then nodded. "I have ship you maybe borrow. You pay?"

_No, but you soon will,_ Thrak thought. He said to the Weequay, "I can pay, yes. Can you show me this ship?"

The Weequay waved a hand, and an Ishi Tib assistant came and took over the bar. The Weequay dried his hands, then motioned to Thrak. "Follow."

The two of them walked out to a small area behind the cantina. It was a small pad, on which sat an old Skylark T-12 Lander. It was a small two-man shuttle, capable of making small hyperspace jumps to nearby planets. It would be just what Thrak needed to reach Ruusan.

The Weequay turned to him. "Good?"

Thrak nodded. "It is sufficient."

The Weequay screwed his face up for a moment as he attempted to discern what 'sufficient' meant, then when he figured it out he held out his hand. "You pay, you can use."

"Oh, yes," Thrak replied, moving his hand towards the inside of his black robes. "Here's my payment, right here."

In a swift, sweeping movement Thrak pulled out his lightsaber, ignited it, and slashed across the Weequay's chest. The Weequay threw up his arms as he fell backwards, the blade going past his neck and searing his jugular vein. He lay on the ground, unmoving.

Thrak shut down the blade, replacing the hilt in his robes, and got aboard the Lander. He sat in the pilot's chair, and readied the engines. He also plotted a jump from Sulon to Ruusan, which he would activate once he was clear of the atmosphere.

It wouldn't be long before the power of the Valley was his. Then, he'd be able to destroy Sidious.

There were three known habitable planets close to Sulon. Ruusan was the one closest to it, and it had been explored and travelled by a multitude of Republic archaeological teams and also an expedition of Jedi and scientists. They'd found several ancient and cracked stone slabs that told of a powerful placed called the Valley of the Jedi, where thousands of Jedi Force essence resided. It could be wielded by a user of either the light or dark side, and could bring either great peace or great destruction to the galaxy.

However, after extensive searching both the Republic and the Jedi had found no such Valley on Ruusan, and after a while they'd given up on looking for it. When they'd left Ruusan they'd taken the tablets and other samples with them, but once they broke through the atmosphere the samples disappeared mysteriously, as if they were never there. It was obvious that the Valley of the Jedi was just a myth, and wasn't real.

Then why, Uzhek thought, would Thrak be heading here?

He landed the _Sentinel_ just outside where the main excavation area had been, abandoned by the Republic scientists years ago. There were still a few discarded tools here and there, mostly-buried in the sand. There was no sign that anyone else had come since they'd left.

Keeping his hand close to his lightsaber, Uzhek walked cautiously towards the bottom of the large pit the team had excavated. There were still some rocky steps leading down there, but they weren't entirely safe. Plus, it was a bit of a way down, more than enough of a drop to break several bones if he fell.

After carefully negotiating the steps Uzhek found himself in the bottom of the pit. It was very large, although sand had filled up some of the gap itself since the scientists had been there.

He looked forward and saw the back of the pit, a big rock wall that had been largely untouched by the scientists or the local weathering. He walked over to it, feeling something. It wasn't the Force, it was more like a gut instinct, like something was in that wall that he needed to find.

He slowly ran a hand along the wall, until he felt something again, but this time it was the Force. It was telling him there was something behind where his hand was.

Unhooking his lightsaber and activating the blade, Uzhek cut into the wall carefully, moving the blade around where his hand had been. He cut a complete square, then deactivated the blade and used the Force to pull the slab out of the wall. It fell to the sandy ground, revealing a stone tablet behind it, similar to the ones he and the scientists had found before. Again he used the Force, pulling the tablet towards him. When it came into view, he read the inscription, written in dialect that was the same as the other tablets.

When he'd finished reading, his eyes widened. That couldn't be possible…it just couldn't…

He left the tablet where he was, and sprinted back towards the _Sentinel_. As he neared the steps, however, he found someone at the top, waiting for him.

The Zabrak Jedi Uzhek stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Thrak, obviously overcome with fear. The corner of Thrak's mouth curled in a sinister grin as he reached for his lightsaber.

"I told you not to follow me, Jedi Uzhek," he said, his voice booming into the cavernous pit. "Now, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you."

"Wait!" Uzhek pleaded. "This isn't Ruusan!"

For a split second Thrak thought he felt sincerity through the Force, but it was quickly replaced by a shroud. Uzhek was lying. "Nice try, but I don't believe you. I can sense what you're feeling in the Force, you fool."

Uzhek shook his head. "You don't understand! This isn't Ruusan, it's a giant holographic projection! It was created by an ancient race that left this galaxy millennia ago!"

Thrak's grin vanished. "If it was a hologram, your science teams would've detected it."

"When we took samples away from the planet, they disappeared!" Uzhek told him. "They vanished, and we never found out why! You've got to believe me, we need to get out of here!"

"What for?" Thrak asked.

Uzhek pointed to the back wall of the pit. "I found a tablet similar to ones we found previously, and it said that this planet was false, a projection covering a gigantic explosives stockpile at its core. As soon as I touched the tablet it sent a strange signal to the explosives, and they're now set to detonate. We have less than twenty minutes before this 'planet' explodes!"

Thrak laughed. "And you gleaned all of this from an 'ancient' tablet? Unlikely." He gripped his lightsaber hilt. "I've heard some pretty bad lies in my travels, but yours has to be the worst. Now, either get out of my way or prepare to become one with the Force."

Uzhek's expression changed to one of grim determination. "If you're going to ignore me and doom yourself, so be it." He raised his lightsaber hilt, igniting the blue blade.

Thrak's grin returned as his crimson blade sprang to life. He was going to enjoy this. "Time to die."

He raised his lightsaber high, and leapt at Uzhek from the top of the steps.

The red blade descended with the force and velocity of a fast-moving landspeeder, and Uzhek was barely able to deflect the attack. He staggered back slightly, but quickly regained his posture as Thrak swung his blade to the side, trying to catch Uzhek in his ribs. Uzhek deflected that attack as well, then countered with a vertical slice designed to separate Thrak's body in two up the middle. Thrak quickly brought his blade up in a horizontal block, forcing Uzhek backwards as he pushed himself forward.

Uzhek raised his lightsaber like a javelin, thrusting forward while still keeping a grip on it. The blade went straight through the spot where Thrak had been standing, as he had now rolled to the side and away. Uzhek gripped his hilt again with both hands as Thrak came back at him, swinging viciously. Uzhek spun around in a three-hundred-and-sixty and blocked the attack, twisting his blade and forcing Thrak's down towards the ground. It dug deep into the sand, and while Thrak attempted to get it out Uzhek delivered a well-aimed kick to Thrak's head. The red blade deactivated, and the hilt fell to the sand. Thrak was knocked backwards, and Uzhek leapt high with his lightsaber aimed at the ground below him. Just as he stabbed straight down Thrak rolled to the side again, using the Force to call his lightsaber to him.

Uzhek pulled his blade out of the sand and raised it in a Djem-So defensive block, ready for Thrak's next onslaught. Just as the Sith Lord began running at him, Uzhek heard something high above him. Thrak stopped in mid-run and looked up with Uzhek to see a small one-man ship descending through the atmosphere. Uzhek could feel a dark presence on that ship. It had to be a Sith Lord or Dark Jedi.

He looked back at Thrak. "Friend of yours?"

Thrak shook his head. "A pursuer, actually. Probably Count Dooku." He deactivated his blade and reattached the hilt to his belt, inside his robes. "How about we call this a draw, Jedi Uzhek?"

Sensing that the explosives only had about twenty minutes now until they exploded, and that the dark presence on the ship was indeed powerful, Uzhek nodded. "This isn't over, Thrak."

Thrak gave him a wry smile. "I'd be disappointed if it was, Jedi Uzhek." He touched the tips of his fingers to his forehead, then lowered his hand. "Until we meet again." Then, using a large amount of the Force, he leapt high to the top of the pit and ran for his ship.

Deactivating his own blade, Uzhek sprinted back up the steps towards the _Sentinel_. If he was fast he could follow Thrak into hyperspace.

The other vessel was now fully through the atmosphere and landing nearby, just as Thrak's Lander took off. Uzhek quickly got aboard and powered up _Sentinel_'s engines. As soon as they were hot he lifted from the ground and shot after his target, pouring all available energy into the engines.

As he chased after Thrak again, several questions ran through his head. Why did an alien race create a fake planet set to explode? Was there actually a real Ruusan? Was there a real Valley of the Jedi? Why was there a Sith chasing Thrak as well? Where was Thrak headed next?

There were so many questions, and no way for him to answer them. Trying to extrapolate where Thrak was headed, Uzhek jumped into hyperspace.

Count Dooku had already left his ship, explored the pit, found the tablet and gotten back to his ship with time to spare before the impending explosion. Why someone would want to create a false planet like this was beyond him, but it was obvious he wouldn't find the answer in the five minutes he had left before the explosives detonated, removing the artificial gravity well and causing a massive shockwave to spread through nearby sectors.

Thrak had been here, though. So had a Jedi. Dooku could feel the residual Force energy around the pit, and there were also scorch marks that looked reminiscent of work done by a lightsaber. They had been here, and they had both escaped.

But to where? If Thrak was headed for a planet with a large dark side aura, where would be his next target?

Then he figured it out. There was only one other planet close to here that Thrak would think of trying.

Setting an autopilot hyperspace course to activate as soon as he was clear, Dooku took off. He now had less than three minutes until the 'planet' exploded.

Ten seconds later he was in hyperspace, on his way to what he hoped was Thrak's next destination.

Two minutes later, the explosives at the core of the fake Ruusan exploded. The holographic generators creating the façade were destroyed, and the entire planet disappeared. All that was left was a large vessel, the size of a Republic _Acclamator_-class vessel, which was quickly swallowed by the expanding explosion. The gravity generators went offline, destabilising the area around where the fake planet had been.

Two minutes after that, there was nothing left.

Time was running out, and Thrak knew it.

He had that pesky Zabrak Jedi still on his tail, refusing to give up the chase, and now he also had Sidious's right-hand man, Dooku, hard on his heels as well. If he didn't find safe haven soon he'd be a dead man.

But he couldn't give up now. He had to find the power to defeat Sidious, and claim his rightful place as ruler of the Sith. That was his one drive, the one thing keeping him going – find a way to destroy Sidious.

Altering his hyperspace course from Yavin IV – a course designed to trick his pursuers – he instead re-entered hyperspace from a different point.

Destination: Vjun.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
